How to humor the Brits without antagonising the Yanks

The New York Stock Exchange

As you will no doubt know, the people who live on the other side of the North Atlantic Ocean can’t speak English properly. This is true whether you are American or British. 

(If you are neither American nor British, you can relax and watch the fireworks at this point).

As technical PR and marketing people, we have to understand both versions of this wonderful, dirty, mellifluous language that we share. Not least because we will probably have to convince, compel and cajole someone who speaks the other version of our tongue at some point in our careers.

An interesting post on the PR Newswire Blog highlights some of the key differences between the ways we use language on each side of the pond. And it also mentions Winnie the Pooh, which probably makes it worth reading in and of itself...

And, if that weren’t enough, it’s also worth stopping off on one of our older blogs which highlights the differences between the English and American press release. Next time you are preparing a story for use on the other side of the pond, its well worth bearing in mind how they format a release as well as the differences between the languages.

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Boris Sedacca joins Stone Junction

Boris in the seventies ;-)

Our most observant readers will now that we've been recruiting lately - we have been plastering it all over this blog and every social media platform known to man recently after all.

Well, we're delighted to say that we've made an appointment; Boris Sedacca, of Electrical Times, Television, Electrical Products & Applications, Panel Building and Drives & Controls fame has joined the company as editorial supervisor.

We're absolutely delighted about the move and completely confident that Boris is going to deliver some real improvements to the company and to our clients. He's a former journalist with well over three decades of experience in journalism and technical PR and will compliment our existing team brilliantly.

So, without further ado, here are a few facts about Boris to slip into conversation when you're down the pub and chatting about Stone Junction, as you do:

- He has contributed more than fifty articles to The Financial Times on computing and engineering
- He nearly joined Adam & the Ants. Well, kind of... It's a long story.
- He was once a regular on Computer Weekly
- He has a degree in electronic engineering
- He has run several marathons
- Born in Egypt, Boris speaks fluent French

Anyway, that's enough bragging for the day. Tomorrow normal service will resume and we'll go back to trying to make ourselves look clever by banging on marketing and stuff.

In the meantime, if you've worked with Boris in the past and want to resume that relationship as a client of Stone Junction, or even just want to know about the Adam & the Ants thing, give us a call on 01785 225416.

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So, thought leadership doesn’t exist. But it is the currency of the social network.

Regular readers will know that yesterday we established beyond all doubt that thought leadership doesn’t exist in technical PR. (Well, kind of. We really said it’s a bit of an abused and overused term – Ed.)

So, logically, we are today pointing you towards a piece of research which suggests that thought leadership (which doesn’t exist) is the currency of the social network.

Confused? Don’t be.

The research, from SAP and Leader Networks, argues that professionals prefer to use a select number of social networks to interact deeply with their peers by sharing knowledge. And the content that we generally regard as being part of a thought leadership focussed campaign is the material that they access to make those connections valuable.

So, if you are blogging, writing opinion pieces, producing videos, drafting white papers or doing any of those other good things we should all do in order to change people’s minds, you are on the right track. It's even better if you are sharing them socially.

You can read the research in its entirety here. It’s well worth taking a look.

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Why thought leadership doesn’t really exist

Technical PR agencies and marketing folk generally love to use to phrase thought leadership. I admit that I’m also guilty of this particular sin; mainly because there is no phrase that means the thing we actually want thought leadership to mean in a B2B environment.

But the reality is that the concept is such an intangible, old fashioned and difficult to pin down phrase that it’s mostly meaningless.

For instance, companies will say, ‘we want to be a thought leader in our space’. But can one really be a thought leader? Shouldn’t there only be one leader of any particular thought? Or at least just a few? Not everyone with a PR agency can be a thought leader surely?

OK, so maybe I’m being a bit flippant, but the fundamental point stands. If one can’t define what one means by thought leadership, then it may as well not exist. And if you can define it, then is ‘thought leadership’ really the correct term for the bundle of goals you have created?

One PR industry thinker who has done some work towards a valid definition is Julia Hood, over on PR Week US. She makes some very valid points about the way thought leadership PR tactics (There you go again – using a phrase which only has individual meaning, derived entirely from the values you attribute to it - Ed) can have value after the fact, to help reinforce a customer’s decision to buy from you.

The things we do to help achieve thought leadership are, by and large, valid tactics. However, I think we should be more aware of why we are doing them.

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Another useful tool for finding guest posts

Last week we wrote about a useful tool for finding guest blogging opportunities and also bloggers to produce guest posts on your behalf. And, just like London buses, it seems that you wait ages for just such a tool to come along and then two come at once.

The SEOMoz Daily today describes a way of automating the process of using Twitter to find these opportunities. It needs a little bit of Excel twiddling and a little bit of Twitter knowledge to make it work, but it is a really interesting way to using two tools that are either free or that you probably already own to provide a long term benefit.

And best of all, the Excel spreadsheet needed to make this work has already been created for you and is free – thanks to Ethan Lyon an SEO Consultant from Philadelphia.

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Colour separations - the debate continues

Some colour. Relevant see?

Following last week's guest Blog about colour separations, by Courtney Magg-Jones, the debate has continued over on the BMON blog, where Chris Rand has offered his views on the whole shebang.

Our own position, as technical PR consultants, is much closer to Chris'. That said, we feel that Courtney's argument was one of the best argued pro-colour-seps pieces we've come across in a long time.

For those of you who don't know, the debate started on the Stone Junction blog, way back in 2006, where we air an argument with many parallels to that of Mr Rand's.

But what we would really like to know is your view. If you are an advertiser, do colour separations work for you or not? If you're a publisher are they a positive revenue generator or something you would prefer to avoid but can't give up?

Over to you.

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How to find guest Blogging opportunities

The word 'Blog'.

There are plenty of good reasons to write guest Blogs and encourage other Bloggers to write guest posts on your behalf. However, finding the opportunity to guest Blog as part of your technical PR campaign isn’t as easy as you might think.

As someone commissioning guest Blogs you are probably looking for interesting content and a source of posts for high days and holidays. You might think that it’s easy enough to convince your colleagues and associates to produce these, but speaking from experience, it isn’t!

If you are looking to write guest posts for publication on other people’s Blogs, then you’re objective is probably to generate links to your own site, to generate editorial coverage or to build a relationship with the Blogger him or herself. Again, given that for many Blogging is a hobby or a tertiary part of their job, this is also not as easy as it sounds.

One way of finding a good source of guest posts and a good source of potential blogs to write for, is BloggerLinkUp. You can request and offer guest posts, request sources for interviews and offer products for review.

So, if you want to spread the word or identify some good sources of content, get linked up.

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Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Stone Junction is recruiting again!

This man doesn't work here. Really.

Here at Stone Junction we are always on the lookout for bright and enthusiastic PR folk to add to our team (And convert into cynical, world weary flacks? – Ed)

However, just at the moment, we are especially keen to find some new victims, sorry professionals, to fill the following positions:

In house journalist/copywriter
This role would suit a relatively experienced professional copywriter with an understanding of the business to business sector or, ideally, technical writing. You might be an ex-journalist or specialist PR practitioner and you will certainly be no stranger to a keyboard or telephone. The job will be full time and in-house, based in Stafford.

The role will entail the production of press releases, case studies, opinion pieces, technical articles, Blog posts and e-mail marketing copy as well as a host of other kinds of writing. Cake will be provided on a need-to-eat basis.

And engineering or engineering PR/journalism background and/or European language skills are a bonus but not essential. 
Salary: £22 to £30K plus benefits, depending on experience

Account manager
Are you a bossy so-and-so with experience of managing PR campaigns in the technical sector? If so, this role could be for you.

The perfect candidate will have at least three year’s experience in PR as well as an excellent grasp of PR tactics and strategy. The ability to manage clients, prioritise tasks against tight deadlines and work proactively in a fast paced environment are all essential. Outstanding attentoin to detial and well developed writing skills are also crucial. Engineering experience and/or European language skills are a bonus but not essential.
Salary: £28 to £30K plus benefits, depending on experience

Account executive
Tired of reading job ads that say you will spend the first year of your career making coffee, washing the MD’s car and collecting your colleague’s dry cleaning? Look no further, an account executive at Stone Junction is required to do none of those things. Often.

Instead we offer a friendly and relaxed, but committed, environment focussed on developing your professional skills and allowing you to deliver real projects for real clients as soon as possible.

The ideal candidate would be a graduate with the ability to write compelling copy, grasp technical arguments quickly and form a rapport with clients and journalists both face to face and over the phone. You will also require a keen understanding of the online landscape and strong communication and time management skills.

Engineering experience and/or European language skills are a bonus but not essential.
Salary: £15K to £22K plus benefits, depending on experience

The small print
We’re recruiting to help us cope with all the exciting new business we are winning, by the way. Not because our existing staff keep fleeing the building in terror. Oh no, definitely not because of that. That’s coincidence, if anything.

Mail richards@stonejunction.co.uk or ring Richard Stone on 01785 225416 to apply for any of the above jobs. Make sure you include your CV, current salary details and expectations.

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Incredible research released on social media in manufacturing

Amazing research!

Forrester, that font of cutting edge market knowledge has this week decreed that manufacturers actually do use social media as part of their marketing mix. What’s more, they think that more manufacturers will begin doing so as time goes on. Forrester, the world of technical PR salutes you!

Incredible. You can read the report here.

Anyway, the Forrester report has prompted an interesting Blog post over on The B2B Guide to Social Media, which is worth a read. It outlines the use of three key social media platforms for the engineering sector; YouTube, LinkedIn and blogging.

Readers of this Blog will know that we have been championing the use of all three for well over half a decade now. For us blogging in particular can be an incredibly powerful tool, quite apart from its function in PR.

So, if you feel like making a Friday enquiry, give us a call and we can explain how we can help you set up, run and create content for a Blog. Or, we can do the whole lot for you.

Call 01785 225416 or e-mail richards@stonejunction.co.uk.

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Image: jannoon028 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net